Pruning apparatus of the kind described above are used for cutting grapes from vines in vineyards. Vine shoots extend over the entire length of the vine and sap nourishment for the fruit at the ends of the vine. The pruning of excess foliage is mandatory for achieving optimum growth. The reach of conventional pruning apparatus is relatively limited, so that the top shoots on high vines can only be reached with great difficulty, or not at all.
Conventional pruning apparatus employ hedge clipper type cutting tools which have two blades working in opposite directions. The cutting of shoots with such tools does not provide a smooth cut and the rather rough cuts that result may become breeding ground for fungi and even cause infestation of the vines with fungus diseases. Another drawback of conventional pruning apparatus is that shoots cut off from the upper vines to get caught on the vines themselves and remain there to rot thereby again leading to fungus infestation and diminished growth of the vines. Moreover, the hedge clipper at the free end of the guide tube is relatively heavy so that the handling of the device is substantially impaired when pruning vines that are far removed or otherwise are hard to reach.